A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Mark Twain (novel)
Edmund Beloin (writer)

Release Date:

22 April 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Its laughter will ring through the centuries!

Plot:

A singing mechanic from 1912 finds himself in Arthurian Britain.

Plot Keywords:

Technology | Time Travel | Blacksmith | Merlin The Magician | Back In Time

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Hank Martin
Rhonda Fleming	...	Alisande La Carteloise
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Lord Pendragon / King Arthur (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
William Bendix	...	Sir Sagramore
Murvyn Vye	...	Merlin
Virginia Field	...	Morgan Le Fay
Joseph Vitale	...	Sir Logris
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Sir Lancelot
Richard Webb	...	Sir Galahad
Alan Napier	...	High Executioner
Julia Faye	...	Lady Penelope
Mary Field	...	Peasant woman
Ann Carter	...	Peasant girl

Also Known As:

A Yankee in King Arthur's Court (UK)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Mark Twain got his idea for Hank Martin to use the eclipse for his benefit from Christopher Columbus. Columbus actually used an eclipse knowingly to perhaps alter history. Stranded in Jamaica in 1503, on his fourth voyage, Columbus and his crew were wearing out their welcome with the natives, who were feeding them. Columbus knew a lunar eclipse was coming, so he "predicted" the Moon's disappearance. The natives begged him to bring it back and, of course, he did, in due time.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the long shot where Hank makes the sun "vanish" during an eclipse (a process shot), the sun is depicted as being covered by a black disk while the sky around it remains sky-blue; in reality, the sky would go dark, as if night had fallen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hank Martin: Here ya are.
[pays taxi driver]
Hank Martin: Hey, has this castle always had four turrets?
Pendragon Castle door man: Always.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Entourage: One Car, Two Car, Red Car, Blue Car (#6.3)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

IF YOU STUB YOUR TOE ON THE MOON

Quite Enjoyable

My youngest sister and I have a tradition of watching old movies that are set in older times. "Jason and the Argonauts" was classic; she's young enough to get scared by the realistic effects of present day, so the special effects in these movies just makes her--and I--laugh. But this movie was different. It was low on the special effects, which 86ed our tradition, but we had fun watching it all the same. It was enjoyable and funny, with an easy plot to follow (which always helps when one watches a movie with a seven-year-old).

If you want my advice, watch it. You'll be entertained, even if the same idea was copied 10,000 times.